Strong’s H1314 · Hebrew
בֶּשֶׂם
besem
beh'-sem
Definition
fragrance; by implication, spicery; also the balsam plant
Etymology
or בֹּשֶׂם; from the same as H1313 (בָּשָׂם);
Where the KJV renders it
- smell
- spice
- sweet (odour)
Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.
What the first audience heard
A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.